Doomed
by Diana42
Summary: We all know the fate that awaits Sirius Black.  Does knowing more about his past make his impending doom more or less tragic?  This story will follow Sirius Black from the summer after graduation until the end.
1. Chapter 1

"Is it just me, or does it feel all we do is go to meeting after meeting and there's no action?" Sirius Black asked, taking a sip of coffee and looking across the table at his best friend.

"What kind of action can there be right now, Padfoot? It's a waiting game, isn't it?" replied James Potter, using an old school nickname for his friend.

"I thought we'd be fighting, Prongs, I thought we'd be in the middle of the war." Sirius said impatiently.

The two young men were sitting in a booth in an out-of-the-way diner in London. Although they looked like any of the other patrons, these two men were different from the others in the diner. They were wizards and recent graduates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After graduation both Sirius and James had been approached by their former headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore, to join his organization, the Order of the Phoenix, and fight against the evil wizard, Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters.

The Wizarding world was at war. Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters were trying to take over. They thrived on death and pain and torture. The Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's underground organization, was fighting against them, trying to keep the world safe for wizards and muggles, nonmagical people, alike. Sirius and James had been excited at the prospect of taking on dark wizards, expecting exciting raids and fights to occupy their time. Instead, they spent their time in meeting after meeting, while the older members discussed what they knew, what they didn't know, and what they desperately needed to find out.

"More coffee, sir?" asked the attractive muggle waitress, coffee pot in hand.

"Sure thing, darling," replied Sirius, holding out his cup, his eyes looking her up and down. "Not bad, eh?," he asked his friend, his eyes watching the waitress walk away.

"Maybe I should leave you to her," James said, pulling out a gold watch. "I need to get home. Lily's probably home from the Longbottoms' by now."

Lily was James' girlfriend and also a member of the Order. She had gone over to a friend's house after the meeting. James and Lily had just recently moved into a flat. Living together was still a novelty to them.

"Keep you on a short leash, doesn't she, Prongs?" Sirius teased, reverting to James' old nickname.

"Maybe . . . " agreed James, "but I like it that way," he said and laughed.

James had pursued Lily for six years, from almost the first moment he met her at Hogwarts. Finally, in their last year at school she agreed to go out with him. They had been inseparable ever since. Sirius fully expected them to get married soon.

James stood up from the table, said good bye to his friend and then left the diner. Sirius was left behind with the handful of muggles sitting at a couple of other tables. He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair, his grey eyes sparkling as the waitress walked back up to the table. Her short blond hair curled around her face and her bright blue eyes flashed as they glanced around the diner. She was cute, not the drop-dead gorgeous kind of girl that usually caught Sirius's eye, but, looking at her low-cut top which clung to her curves, and her short skirt which showed off her legs, she had definitely knew how to catch a man's eye. According to her name tag, her name was Ella.

"Your friend leave?" she asked.

"Yup. Left me all by myself," Sirius replied.

"You want anything else, or are you ready for the check?" she prodded him.

Sirius gave her his most charming smile, the one that usually got him what he wanted with a girl. He was good looking, and he knew how to use it to his advantage.

"How about you join me?" He asked. His smile changing to a grin.

"Uh, if you didn't notice I'm working." She said, with a sigh of exasperation. If he only knew how many of the customers tried hitting on her. She laid his check down and walked away. Sirius leaned back and enjoyed watching her walk away. He counted out a few pounds and set the money at the edge of the table, waiting of her to come back.

"You want change?" she asked, thinking he wasn't much of a tipper.

"No, just want to know what time you get out of here."

"I'm working all night," she said, picking up the pound notes and walking away. "Have a good night," she called over her shoulder.

Sirius knew when to call it a lost cause. He got up from the table, flashed her another of his smiles and called, "Until next time, Ella," and walked out of the diner.

Ella rolled her eyes, and wiped the empty table down with a rag. He was better looking than most of the guys who hit on her while she was working. Actually, she thought, he was too good looking. "Nothing but trouble," she muttered to herself.

Sirius left the diner and headed to the pub across the street. He hit on the waitress there, who happily brought him a few pints and flirted with him. As she laughed at his stupid joke, he knew that all he had to do was give the word and she would invite him home. But he didn't give the word. His mind kept going back to Ella, the waitress across the street. He shook his head, muttering, "Give it up, Padfoot, and go home." He threw a hefty tip on the table and strolled out of the pub.

As he walked out onto the street, his eyes darted to the diner across the street. "Was she still there?" he wondered. Feeling like a stalker, he strode across the street. He glanced at his watch. It was close to three in the morning. As he got to the front window, he saw her with her coat on, walking to the door. Feeling even more like a stalker, he didn't want her to catch him hanging at the front window staring after her. Turning on the spot, he disapparated, disappearing from the street and reappearing inside his apartment.

Sirius wasn't used to getting blown off by women. Usually the right smile, a little bit of charm, and they were his for the taking. He'd never had someone shoot him down like Ella had. He couldn't stop thinking about her, her blond hair and the deep blue of her eyes. The tight top clinging to her curves, which, he thought with a smile, looked delicious. "That's it, I'm done" he said out loud and flipped over in his bed and forced himself to fall asleep.

The next day, as always, Sirius headed over to James and Lily's flat. James immediately began digging into him. Lily was serving pancakes to both of them. James's were delivered with a kiss.

Lily's long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her green eyes flashed as she said, "Shot down? You're kidding? I didn't think there was a woman alive who could resist Mr. Black."

Sirius glared at them both, but James laughed harder.

"You'd like this muggle, Lil, she took nothing off him. His power-smile got him nowhere," joked James.

"Ha ha, I wasn't even trying," bluffed Sirius.

"Not trying? Come on, Padfoot. You wanted her, you know you did. And she shot you down. Accept it and move on."

"C'mon, James. Just because I gave you years of practice in rejection doesn't mean everyone is so well versed. Give the guy a break," laughed Lily. James frowned at her, but Sirius's barking laugh filled the room.

"That's right Lil, put him in his place. I knew I liked you for a reason," said Sirius, shoving a forkful of pancake in his mouth. "Hey, let's go to the diner for lunch and see if she's working."

James quit laughing and looked at his best friend, "You really do have it bad, don't you?"

"Come on, admit it, she was gorgeous. I can't let her get away without a fight. Maybe if Lil comes with us it'll give me some credibility. You're too scruffy, Prongs. You don't project the right image. I blame you for my failure last night."

The three friends laughed over their breakfast, but agreed to go with Sirius to the diner for lunch. Lily wanted to see the girl who was tormenting Sirius so. He had always been the love em and leave em type. For him to be intrigued following the initial meeting was something new.

Lily, James and Sirius were joined by another close friend, Remus Lupin. Remus's hair was sandy blond, and his face was scarred but kind looking. For someone so young, not yet twenty, he looked older than his years. He was happy to be along with his old school friends, and anxious to meet 'the one that got away.'

Ella couldn't believe it when she saw the four people crammed into the booth. He was back, and this time he had brought friends. Ella rolled her eyes, and steeled herself as she walked over to take their order. She decided to act like nothing had happened last night and like she'd never seen any of them before.

"Anyone figured out what they want?" she asked, walking up to the booth.

Quickly, she took their orders, determined to not even look at the handsome, dark-haired man who seemed just as determined to catch her eye. As she walked away toward the kitchen, she heard the table break into quick and quiet chatter.

"Sirius, she's lovely, but she's not giving you an inch," whispered Lily.

"Padfoot, I think it's a lost cause," said James, "Give it up while you still have some dignity left."

"Oh you're a fine one to talk, James Potter," said Remus, always the voice of reason. "How many years did you pester Lily?"

"Yeah, but that obviously wasn't a lost cause!" James reasoned.

"Knock it off, all of you," said Sirius. "You're here to give me some credibility, but if you keep giggling and making stupid faces, you're not doing me any good."

"Sorry, Padfoot," said James, "Stupid me, I thought we were here for lunch."

Just then Ella walked back and delivered their drinks. As she went to set down Sirius's soda, he reached for it at the same time. As his fingers touched hers, she jumped, dropping the glass, but Sirius caught it just before it shattered. She looked into his eyes and smiled with relief.

"Oh thank god," she said, breathless with relief. "That would have been my fifth broken dish this week. My boss said that if I broke anymore, he'd take it out of my tips."

And suddenly the ice was broken.

"Glad to help you out, Ella," Sirius said, enjoying the first true smile he'd seen her give. The fact that it was directed at him made it all the better.

"You have me at a disadvantage," she said, looking at him, her blue-eyed gaze locking with his grey one.

"Uh -" he stammered, "Oh, James, Lily and Remus," he said, gesturing to each of his friends in turn. "I'm Sirius."

"You are? As in the Dog Star or do you really mean it?" She asked, her eyes twinkling.

Sirius couldn't reply at first. He wasn't sure if he was more surprised by her knowledge of astronomy or that she was giving him a hard time. Girls usually fluctuated between giggling, blushing and just agreeing with him. "Dog Star," he said mildly as Lily, and James and Remus laughed at him.

"Sorry," she said with a slightly apologetic tone. "I just can't help myself sometimes."

She looked like she was going to say more, but just then a deep, angry voice called, "Ella!" from the kitchen.

"Oh crap," she said.

And with that she was gone from their table. As the four friends enjoyed their lunch, Ella bustled around the diner, seeing to the needs of all of the customers. She checked back with them frequently, but was far too busy to chat.

"There goes Sirius, always playing the hero," joked James.

"Yeah, who'd have thought all you had to do was save a glass in distress," said Remus.

"Shut it, both of you!" glowered Sirius. He may have acted upset with his friends, but he was glad to finally be making some headway with the aloof 'hot muggle waitress.'

"I like her," said Lily simply. "She's got spunk."

"I think this is an extraordinary amount of work for one of your one night wonders, Padfoot," James said, but his smile quickly faded as he caught Lily's eye.

Remus burst out laughing, "yeah, one night and then they 'wonder why he doesn't call, wonder why he doesn't write, wonder why he wasn't here when I woke up.' Poor things."

By the time they had finished their meal most of the diner had cleared out. Ella made her way over to the table. Pushing her short hair behind her ears, she asked, "Everything all right?" They all quickly agreed. "Good," she said, "Anything else I can get for you?"

Sirius decided to try again, "How about _you_ let_ me_ get you a drink when you get off work?"

Almost immediately the look in Ella's eyes changed. "Too much, mate," whispered Remus. All of the headway Sirius had made earlier was slipping away.

"No, really," he said quickly, "I uh - rescued your glass . . . don't you owe me something for that? I just want to buy you one pint. That's all."

Ella gave a sigh and then looked at him. She looked around the table at James and Lily and Remus, all of them gazing back at her, and then she smiled at Sirius.

"Ok. Fine. You did save my," she paused with a smirk, "glass. Besides, I'm starting to get the feeling that you're just going to keep showing up here until I finally agree."

"Yeah he is," laughed James. Then he jumped as Lily kicked him under the table.

"Meet me here tonight. At five," she said as she turned and walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

"I've never seen you worked up over a girl like this before, Padfoot," James said later that afternoon.

Lily had gone home, but James, Sirius and Remus had been joined at Sirius's flat by another of their school friends, Peter Pettigrew. Peter was shorter and plumper than the other men. As they laughed and joked, he always seemed to be half a step behind the others, just a little slower on the punch line. Peter felt like he was left out, but James, Sirius and Remus looked upon Peter as one of their best friends, and thought of themselves as a quartet of troublemakers, with Peter just as integral a part of the whole.

Sirius was standing in front of a mirror working with his hair. He was trying to get it to just the right place between not too neat, yet not too messy.

"Play with it any more, dear, and you'll have to start over," the mirror told him in a grand-motherly voice. Behind him, James, Remus and Peter burst into a fresh round of laughter.

"Five til, Sirius," reminded Remus.

"Ok then, I guess I'm out of here," Sirius said as he quickly untucked the shirt he had tucked in only moments before.

"Details! We want details!" cried James.

Sirius caught a glimpse of Peter laughing as he turned and disapperated from his apartment. He took in a great gulp of city air as he apparated in an alleyway a few doors down from Ella's diner. He strolled out of the alley and moved toward the diner.

Ella was standing out in front, waiting on him, as he walked up. She had changed out of her short skirt and low-cut top and now was wearing a white t-shirt and an old, faded pair of jeans which clung to her curves nicely. A backpack was slung over one shoulder and she had a pair of thick-soled black boots on. Her blond curls were pulled back with a black head band. Sirius smiled as he noted that she had applied some deep red lipstick to her lips. "I'm lipstick worthy," he thought to himself as he walked toward her.

Sirius Black came from one of the oldest wiziarding families in Britain. For as many generations back as their were records, his family was pure-blood wizard. Although "Blood Status" - being pure blooded wizard - was important to most in Sirius's family, it had never mattered to him. Sirius had first developed an interest in muggles as a way to annoy his mother. Growing up, his bedroom walls had been covered with pictures of muggle girls in bikinis and motorcyles, his personal obsession.

In school he had made friends with people not based on where they came from, but who they were. James, his best friend, came from a pure-wizard family, while Lily was muggle-born, both of her parents were muggles. After school, he found that he loved going to muggle bars, blending in with them, enjoying their music and beer. Oftentimes he found himself going home with a muggle girl he met. But when that would happen, there was usually very little conversation, and Sirius preferred one-night stands. This, he realized, would be his first real date with a muggle. Perhaps, he thought, this was why his stomach was full of butterflies.

Ella caught sight of him and smiled. "Ah, my stalker is here," she teased.

"You look ... good," Sirius said, thinking 'stupid, stupid, stupid' after the words came out of his mouth.

"Thanks," Ella said. "I have left Ella the waitress behind. This" she held out her hands, "is just Ella."

"Well, just Ella, I believe I owe you a pint. Where to?"

"There's a pub across the street. Tis a little shady. There's a better one right down the road," she gestured to her left.

Thinking of the waitress he'd been flirting with last night, and deciding to avoid _that_ awkward scene, Sirius said, "Let's try the one down the road."

Ella smirked at him and started walking. Sirius caught up with her and slipped an arm around her waist. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Silently, he cursed himself. 'Why,' he thought, 'does this girl turn me into such an idiot?!?'

They walked into the pub and Sirius quickly scanned the room for a quiet table. He guided Ella over to a booth in the back corner. The pub was old. The hardwood booths had high backs which allowed privacy. The bar stood along one wall, a dark wood polished to a high shine. Several tables lay scattered across the floor and quiet music was coming from a juke box on the back wall. A waitress came over and, with a nod of agreement from Ella, Sirius ordered two pints.

"So, what do you do when you're not busy stalking innocent girls?" Ella teased.

Sirius thought, 'I'm in a secret organization working to save the world from an evil wizard. Yeah, that'll work.'

"Well, I'm just recently out of school, so I'm - well," he stumbled for words.

"Still finding yourself?" she asked.

"Yeah. You could say that," he said, and then realizing that he quickly needed to direct conversation away from himself to avoid questions he couldn't answer, he asked "What about you? What do you do when you're not busy being Ella the waitress?"

"School. Art school. I'm a painter," she told him. "But what that really means is that I'll probably be a waitress for the rest of my life." She gave a dry laugh.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked her, confused.

"Well, you know... no one can really make a decent living as an artist."

"Oh," Sirius said.

Sirius came from a family with money. Even though he had left his parents' home at 15, thanks to an older uncle, he had inherited enough money that he could live more than comfortably without worry. The idea of not being able to do what you want because of money was a foreign notion to him. Most wizards he knew did what they loved and were able to make due on the money it brought them.

"But you like to paint?" he asked.

"Oh yes, painting is my favorite. I enjoy drawing and sketching, but painting is my calling."

Sirius ordered them each another pint and a large basket of chips for them to munch on.

"I want to see," he said.

"My work?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She looked at him and he could see the wheels turning in her mind.

"We'll see," she told him.

Ella wasn't sure what Sirius was after. She was used to guys hitting on her. She dressed provocatively at the diner on purpose. Low-cut blouses and short, tight skirts were good for tips. But this was the first time she had gone out with what she had always referred to as 'one of the creeps that goggles at my arse.' There was something about him, something she couldn't put her finger on, that intrigued her.

"We'll see, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "We'll just have to see."

"Did you grow up in London?" he asked her.

"Yup, all my life," she said. "My parents died when I was little. I was raised by my grandfather. He died 2 years ago, when I was 16, and I've been on my own since. I've been working at the diner to put myself through art school. What about you?"

"Well, I grew up in London, but I went away to school when I was a kid."

"Where did you go to school?"

"Oh - it was a little school, way up north. No one's every heard of it," he answered quickly. "I came back to London for school breaks until I was 15. But my parents and I had a big falling out and I haven't been to their house since then. James's parents pretty much adopted me from that point on and I spent all my school breaks with his family."

"You haven't seen your parents?" she asked. She hadn't had parents since she was five, and couldn't imagine someone who _had_ parents not wanting to see them.

"It's difficult to explain," he said slowly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't pry."

She reached into her backpack and drew out a small, black, spiral-bound book and smiled at Sirius. By this time, they were on their third pints and Ella's cheeks were turning pink. She scooted deeper into her side of the booth and patted the space beside her. Sirius was quick to move in beside her.

"These," she said, "are some of my sketches."

Sirius wrapped his arm around her, happy for the excuse to move in closer to her. Ella carefully wiped her fingers on her napkin before opening the book.

The sketches were all different, some were of typical-type assignments, flowers and fruit.

"What's that?" he asked as she turned the page.

"Oh, that's one petal of a tigerlily. It was an assignment, I had to draw something small in great detail and that's what I chose. I liked the shading," she told him, seeming a little embarrassed.

On the next page were a series of sketches of a kitten at play, "that's Zoe," she told him.

They continued to flip through the book and Sirius could see that she had talent. She was able to capture her subjects, catching glimpses of their personality through the drawings. He was used to wizard art, enchanted to move and interact with the people looking at the canvas. This was different, Ella was able to capture an almost similar, life-like effect in a still image, with just pencils or charcoal. Sirius was amazed.

"You're very good," he told her.

"Thanks," she said, her already pink cheeks deepened in colour with his complement.

Sirius flipped to a sketch of an old man. He looked so real, as if he might blink at any moment. "That's my grandfather," she told him.

He continued turning pages, but was getting to the end of the book. There were only a few blank pages left and on the very last page of drawings he was surprised to recognize his own eyes looking back at him. Ella gave a little squeak and quickly closed the book, putting it back in her bag.

"D'ya want another?" Sirius asked, gesturing toward her empty glass.

"Oh no," she said, "Really, I need to go. I hadn't planned on staying so late. I've an early class in the morning."

"A cab?" he asked, thinking it would be fun to ride in a cab. "Are you going to take a cab?"

"No, it's not far, I'll just walk"

"I'll walk you home. It's dark, you shouldn't walk by yourself."

She gave him a skeptical look.

"No, really," he said. "I can't let you walk home by yourself. I'd worry."

"Stalker!" she laughed up at him.

Sirius couldn't help himself. Her face was turned toward him, so close to his own. Almost automatically he started to lean in to her. She turned her head to look in her bag at just the last second, unknowingly thwarting his attempt to kiss her.

"All right. If you're going to walk me home, let's go. I really do have an early class tomorrow."

The walked out together. Sirius kept his arm around her waist. She couldn't see him smile as she leaned against him. Unfortunately they got to her flat far too quickly for Sirius's liking.

"I really do have to get an early start," Ella said again, sounding apologetic as they stood in front of her door.

"Of course," he said.

"No, really. Look, I know I've been giving you a hard time, but I enjoyed myself tonight. With you."

"Me too," Sirius said, meaning it. He hadn't had any idea of what to expect, but he'd enjoyed talking with Ella and getting to know her. "So, am I still a stalker or will you go out with me again?"

"Both!" she said with a laugh.

Sirius leaned in toward her and he was elated as she leaned up to him. The kiss was tentative at first, but then she gave a small sigh and relaxed against him. He deepened the kiss, touching her lips with the tip of his tongue, tasting the ale they had been drinking and the salt of the chips they had shared. She opened to him and they kissed for a few minutes. When she started to pull back, Sirius, who normally would have pushed further, allowed her to pull away.

"When?" he asked her.

"Huh?" she looked a little dazed, her eyes heavy-lidded and her lips puffy from his kisses. "Oh... uh..."

"Tomorrow?" he asked.

"I'm working. Friday?" she countered.

"I can't. Saturday?"

"Deal," she agreed. "I know a band playing at the coolest club. You'll like them, I'm sure. Do you want to go? You can ask your friends to come, too, if you want. It's hard to get in to this place, but that's half the fun."

"Ok," he agreed.

"Pick me up here at six?"

"I'll be here," he told her.

She looked up at him and without even realizing he was doing it, he was kissing her again. Her fingers were twisting in hair at the nape of his neck as he ran his hand up and down along her back. Finally she pulled away from him saying, "Ok, I have _got_ to go in."

With their goodbyes said and their second date set, she went inside. She thought she heard a strange popping noise in the hall, but when she opened the door to look out, it was empty. Sirius had gone.

Sirius apparated outside James and Lily's building. He knocked on their door and Remus let him in.

"So?" Remus asked as he walked from the door to the living room.

Sirius gave him a blank look.

"Did you shag her and get her out of your system?" James asked him, earning a stern "James!" from Lily.

"She's," started Sirius slowly, "different. Different from any girl I've ever gone out with. We just talked for hours."

"Really?" asked Remus.

"Really," Sirius said.

"Um, you've got a little lipstick on your face, Mr. We-Just-Talked-For-Hours." Lily said, causing the others to erupt into fresh laughter. When Sirius blushed, it only made them laugh harder.

"Anyhow," said Sirius, wiping his sleeve across his mouth, "What are we doing Saturday?"

"Full moon, Padfoot," Remus said softly.

As a child, Remus had been bitten by a werewolf. Ever since, he had suffered the terrible and painful transformation every full moon. When he had first started school with the others, he had tried to keep silent about his affliction, but his friends figured it out. James and Sirius worked hard in school and they learned how to transfigure themselves into animal form. Once they had learned, they had taught Peter, and as animals, the three friends were able to help Remus and keep him company during his wolf nights. They had spent every full moon since with Remus.

"Oh yeah..." said Sirius, his face falling. "How could I forget?"

"I'll be fine, Padfoot. Prongs and Wormtail will be with me."

"We might have more fun without you hanging around," joked James.

"Yeah," said Remus, and then he muttered something about dog breath.

"Are you sure?"

"We'll take care of Moony," Peter assured him.

"You won't have as much fun without me." Sirius warned them.

"Yeah, but you might have more fun without us," James said.

"But it's always been the four of us. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs." Sirius said, referring to their nicknames for each other. Each nickname referring to the type of animal form they could assume. Remus, the werewolf was Moony. Peter, Wormtail, could transform into a small grey rat. Sirius, Padfoot, was able to transform into a large, shaggy black dog. And Prongs, James, had the ability to become a large stag.

"Don't worry, Sirius, they aren't going to have that much fun. I'm taking them to my parents' old farmhouse. There's really not a whole lot of trouble to be found there," Lily assured Sirius.

A little while later, Lily chased Peter, Remus and Sirius from the flat. Turning to James with a smile she said, "Finally, a little time for us," and walked over and sat down in his lap.


	3. Chapter 3

"Does Dumbledore really think this is likely?" Sirius asked Lily.

"He's very worried about the muggle-born students," she answered.

Even though he could not see her, Sirius knew she was standing right beside him. Lily had cast disillusionment charms on both of them. Her charm skills were so good that they were both almost invisible, blended into their surroundings like chameleons. Charms were Lily's specialty. Sirius, Lily and a dozen other Order Members were scattered throughout King's Cross Station. Today was the last day of school at Hogwarts. The Hogwart's Express would be arriving shortly and each Order Member was assigned a muggle-born student to follow home and assure their safety. Once the student was home, protective charms were to be cast around their house.

"Here it is," Lily said as the scarlet steam engine pulled into the station.

"I can't believe Remus is missing all the fun," James said.

"He's sick. With the full-moon tomorrow, he's so ill the day before, he couldn't handle being out like this. Don't make him feel worse about it when you see him, James, you know he's already upset," Lily scolded.

Boisterous students filed off the train, oblivious to the potential danger. As their assigned student walked by, an Order member would silently and invisibly file out behind them.

Later that night, Sirius was exhausted. He had cast every protective spell he could think of around the house of the third-year student he had followed home. He had been walking around their garden for hours, casting spells and mumbling to himself. Finally he felt that he could do no more.

"I hope this is enough," he said to himself, then turning on the spot, he disapparated.

Once again, Sirius was working on his hair in his mirror. Deciding he should leave good enough alone, he walked away from the mirror before it had the chance to make fun of him. Glancing at his watch, it was only a quarter to six. He decided it would be better to be early than to continue waiting impatiently at his flat. With a turn, he disapparated from his flat, apparating in the stairwell of Ella's building.

Sirius knocked on Ella's door and almost immediately heard a crash and a curse from the other side of the door. Ella opened the door, hopping up and down on one foot. She looked at Sirius in her doorway and her eyes got huge.

"Oh crap," she said.

"Glad to see you, too," Sirius said with a smirk.

"Oh crap, you are tonight, aren't you?" Ella asked, backing away from the door, motioning Sirius inside and then quickly bending to scoop up a large, long-haired black cat. "Here, come in," she invited.

"You forgot about me?" Sirius asked, trying to keep his voice light. "Another date?" he asked, hoping he sounded teasing and not hurt.

"No, of course not," Ella said, slightly distracted. "Well, not another date, of course, but... well, ok, look, I have a terrible memory. You might as well learn that now. I have to go to University tonight. It's my final grade, I can't get out of it. I've been working all day, I'm exhausted. I can't go clubbing, I've been on my feet for hours, I just can't do it. I'm so sorry." She said quickly.

"Oh," Sirius said, feeling disappointed.

"You can come... If you want. I just have to be there for an hour or so. I'll buy you dinner to make up for it," she promised.

"Ok," he said, "sure, I'll come."

"Good," Ella said, "Here," she thrust the cat at him. "This is Zoe, you two make nice and I'll change. Oh, watch out for the bird, he bites."

She practically ran from the room and shut the bedroom door at the end of the hall behind her. Sirius stroked the cat absentmindedly and looked around the room. It felt small, smaller than his place, but comfortable. The living room consisted of an old, worn couch and a comfortable looking chair. A large coffee table took up a good bit of the room and a small telly was against the opposite wall. Next to the telly stood a large perch with the largest parrot Sirius had ever seen. The bird was a beautiful dark blue colour and he was watching Sirius suspiciously.

Sirius was just about to walk over to the bird when Ella stuck her head out of the bedroom and called, "There's a kettle next to the stove if you want to make some tea. All I've got are bags, they're right next to the stove, too."

He walked into the small kitchen and looked at the stove. Peeking at the closed bedroom door, he decided, "Eh, why not?" and pulled out his wand and quicky tapped the kettle. It gave off a burst of steam and he poured out two cups of hot water and placed a tea bag in each. With a smile, he walked back toward the living room.

Sirius walked up to the large bird. He had always had an affinity with animals, especially birds. Once, when he was in school, his parents took his pet owl away as punishment. Owls, to wizards, were not only pets, but also the carriers of letters and parcels. To taunt his parents, Sirius had tamed a raven and sent it to his parents with a note asking them to take good care of his owl while it was away from him.

"Look at you," he said softly to the bird, who was watching him intently. "You aren't going to bite me, are you big fella?"

The bird flapped his wings at Sirius and ducked his head. Cautiously Sirius reached out a hand and stroked his head. The bird closed his eyes and when Ella walked out, she was shocked to see Sirius petting him. Sirius heard her gasp behind him.

"Oh do be careful," she said quietly, trying not to startle either the man or the bird. "That nasty brute will take a finger if you give him the chance."

"No," Sirius said softly, "Can't you see that we're old friends?"

Ella walked into the kitchen and picked up the tea cups. She set Sirius's down on the coffee table and took a sip of hers, looking at him intently.

"Meeps," she said, indicating the bird, "was my grandfather's. he's around 30 years old."

"What kind of bird is he?"

"Hyacinth macaw," she answered automatically. "He loved my grandfather, but has only ever tolerated me. He usually tries to kill strangers," Ella said.

"Well, Meeps likes me," Sirius said, stepping away from the perch. "He obviously has excellent taste." He picked up his tea and smiled at Ella.

"Well, Stalker, you are a very surprising man, aren't you?" Ella smiled at him. "I'm really sorry about this. I know I promised you a night out."

"That's all right, you'll just owe me. You about ready to go?"

Ella had changed into a pair of jeans and a red tank top. Even with no makeup on, Sirius thought she looked beautiful.

"Yep," she said, downing the rest of her tea, "I'll try and make this as quick as possible. I just need to put in an appearance and also make sure everything is set up correctly."

It was a short walk to the Art School's gallery. Ella's calm demeanor was in stark contrast to the majority of her fellow students, most of whom were bustling around and barking orders at each other. Ella quickly signed in and walked over to a display of five paintings and three ink drawings. Again, Sirius was struck by the talent she displayed.

"Can you hold this?" Ella asked him, pulling down one of the smaller paintings and handing it to Sirius without waiting for his response. Grabbing a hammer, she pulled the tack it had been hanging on out of the wall and quickly moved it up about six inches. She moved a different picture to that spot, took the painting back from Sirius and hung it in the empty slot. Backing away from her display, she nodded to herself. "There. All set," she told him.

"That's it?" Sirius asked.

"Yup, now I just need to get someone over here to verify it. I'll be right back."

Ella was gone for only a few minutes. Sirius watched her blond curls move through the crowd of people. She returned quickly with a proctor who looked at her display, took a few notes and, using a small camera, took a picture. Ella signed his book and then grinned at Sirius.

"All right. Want some dinner?" She asked him.

After a decent dinner and a couple of bottles of not quite as decent wine, Sirius and Ella made their way back to her flat. Ella grabbed another bottle of wine out of the fridge and a couple of mismatched glasses and grinned at Sirius as she walked into the living room and flopped down on the couch beside him.

"Why Miss Bennett, I do believe you're trying to get me drunk," Sirius said with a slight hiccup.

"Oh no, Mr. Black, I do believe I'm trying to get me drunk," she giggled.

"Is that the only way you can tolerate being around your stalker?" he asked her.

"Definitely!" she said, clinking her glass with his. "No, I've just worked so hard this term. I'm glad its done and behind me. Now I've got almost two months off, life is good!" She declared. "And," she added, "I just happen to have a very attractive stalker sitting in my living room."

Sirius smiled at her and leaned in planting a kiss on her surprised face.

"What are you up to, Stalker? I just can't figure out your game," Ella murmured, pulling away from him.

"Why do I have to be playing a game?" he asked her.

"Oh come on," she said, "Everything about you just screams games."

"Ella," Sirius said, taking her hands in his, "I won't lie to you. Every girl I've been with before was a game. But there is something different about you..."

Ella couldn't help herself, she groaned as she leaned back away from him. "Oh my god, that's such a line!" She said, laughing.

"How old are you?" Sirius asked.

"Eighteen."

"How can you be so jaded and only be eighteen?"

"I've been on my own for a while, Sirius," she said simply.

"Why am I here then?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she sighed.

Sirius let go of her hands and ran his own hands through his hair roughly.

"I can't make you trust me," he said, "but I can ask you to try."

"That's true," she agreed.

"If I do you wrong," he said with a sheepish grin, "I'll let you punch me."

"I may punch you anyhow," she said with a laugh. "Ok, too much, I need more wine. All this serious talk is sobering me up."

Ella walked back into the kitchen and dug around for a few minutes before coming back with another bottle.

"Last one," she told him, filling both of their glasses. Raising hers, she said, "Here's to not having to punch you in the face!"

"Hear, hear!" Sirius said with a laugh, clinking glasses with her.

Ella leaned in towards Sirius and kissed him. Reaching one hand up, he ran it through her curls, deepening the kiss. Ella reached out and set her glass down on the table and then scooted herself into Sirius's lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. She rested her hand on his chest and allowed herself to enjoy his kisses. When he cupped her breast, she sighed contentedly.

He slipped his other hand down her back, to her waist, pulling her in closer to him, his mouth moving from hers down to her neck, nibbling and kissing the sensitive spot below her ear. When she shivered against him, he moaned and pulled her even tighter to him. She could feel him, aroused and pushing against her. She tried to pull away and reluctantly, he let her go.

"I can't," she said. "My head is spinning and I don't know if its you or the wine."

He laughed gruffly, his instincts wanting to just grab her and take her right there on the couch. He knew if he pressed her, she'd give in to him. But he had asked her to trust him and if she was going to trust him, he needed to be worthy of it. With a shaky sigh, he let her go.

"More wine?" she asked, holding up the bottle. She filled his glass and he immediately drained it and refilled it. Ella tried to hide a yawn behind her fist.

"Tired?" he asked her.

"Very much so," she replied.

Sirius nodded and closed his eyes for just a moment. Ella looked at him a moment later and realized that he had fallen asleep. Looking at her watch, she was shocked to see that it was almost three in the morning. She stood up and coaxed Sirius into laying out on the couch. She covered him with a quilt and went to bed in her room.


	4. Chapter 4

//Author's Note: Thank you so much for the kind reviews! I'm a little nervous about this chapter, which is rated M.

Sirius woke up the next morning, unsure of where he was, with a splitting headache and an even worse taste in his mouth. Blinking a few times to clear his eyes and his head, he realized he was stretched out on the couch in Ella's flat. He was alone, save for the large parrot staring at him, but he could hear the sound of running water coming from the bathroom in the hall.

He stood up and stretched, groaning as he tried to work out some of the kinks in his back. He stumbled across the living room and into the small kitchen. Listening to make sure he still heard water running, he reached for his wand. He quickly made two cups of tea and a large stack of toast. He had just finished cleaned up the empty wine bottles and dirty glasses when he heard a small gasp behind him.

Ella was standing there. Her hair was still damp, and she was wearing a fuzzy pink bathrobe cinched at her waist. Sirius paused and looked at her, hoping his wand was out of sight. He hoped she hadn't seen anything.

"You cleaned up?" she asked, sounding amazed.

"Uh," Sirius said.

"And made breakfast?"

"Uh," Sirius said again.

"I'm sorry if I woke you. You looked so cute sleeping on the couch. I tried to be quiet," she said, grabbing one of the cups of tea.

"Oh no, you didn't wake me. At least I don't think you did," Sirius said, trying to discreetly pocket his wand.

"Mmm, this is good," Ella said sipping her tea. "You didn't have to clean up, you know. But I appreciate it."

"Oh, it was nothing. Toast?" he asked, offering her the plate of toasted bread.

"Thanks," she said as they moved into the livingroom. They munched their toast silently, until finally Ella said, "So...about you passing out on my couch, Mr. Black. I thought you would be better at holding your drink."

"I'm sorry about that," he said, feeling foolish. "I'm not normally a light-weight. I had a long couple of days and I guess they finally caught up with me."

"It's ok, I don't usually try and drink men twice my size under the table," she told him. "But, I do like knowing that I can drink you under the table," she grinned.

She set down her cup of tea and leaned over to give him a quick kiss. As she did so, her robe slipped open exposing a breast. Without thinking, Sirius reached out and brushed his hand against it. Ella gasped into his kiss, but didn't pull away. Sirius pulled her robe apart, leaving her naked and exposed to him. Ella gave a slight shudder as Sirius deepened the kiss, tasting her lips lightly with his tongue. She moaned softly as his kisses moved from her mouth to the sensitive skin of her neck.

He was enjoying the soft gasps mixed with moans she made as he kissed and nibbled his way along her neck below her ear. Sirius wrapped one arm around her waist, his other hand gently cupping her breast, rubbing his finger over her hardened nipple.

"Do you want me to stop?" Sirius asked between kisses.

"No, this time I know it's you spinning my head and not the wine," Ella said, ducking her head to recapture his lips.

Ella pushed his shirt up, their bare skin touching. She continued kissing him, their tongues dancing as he caressed her breasts. Sirius leaned forward, pushing Ella back onto the couch, her legs wrapped around him. She could feel his erection pressing against her through his pants. Breaking apart from his kiss, she caught his eye and said, "No, I don't want you to stop." And then, grinning at him, she reached down and unbuttoned his pants.

"Ella," he moaned as he helped her work his pants down his hips and off of him, leaving them both naked.

"Yes?" she asked, her blue eyes had deepened in colour with her arousal. He began to kiss her again as he pushed into her, his hardness stretching her tight walls, filling her. He moaned into her mouth. She fit him like a glove, he thought as he held himself still and deep inside her. She gave a small whimper and he began to thrust inside her. Moving slowly and gently at first, he fought to maintain control of himself. As she began to lift her hips and move with him, his body took over and his movements became faster and deeper. As he pumped into her, he bit and sucked on her neck and she squirmed and moaned under him, her hands clasped on his shoulders, urging him on.

"Oh Ella," he moaned as he felt his own release building. Pushing into her as deep as he could, he felt her walls clamp down upon him in response as he came, filling her. His head collapsed on her neck, his arms barely able to hold himself up.

"Sirius," she said a moment later, her breath still coming quickly.

He was still kissing her neck almost absently, "Mmm?"

"I - can't - breathe," she gasped, her legs were still wrapped tightly around his waist, but her hands pushed futilely against his chest.

"Oh - oh, sorry," he said, raising himself off of her. As he pulled out of her, he felt like he had lost part of himself.

Ella was still feeling slightly dazed as she wrapped her bathrobe around her and Sirius was pulling his pants back on. He grinned at her and his grin broke into a smile as her face flushed. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead as she sat back on the couch. She picked up her cup of tea and said vaguely, "Oh, its gone cold."

Without even thinking, Sirius pulled out his wand and tapped the cup. It began to steam seconds before Ella dropped it, her mouth open and her face draining of colour.

"Oh Fuck," Sirius said quietly.

"Wha - uh?" Ella stammered at him.

"Oh Fuck," Sirius said again, sinking down onto the coffee table in front of Ella.

"What did you do?" She was finally able to say. Her previously flushed face had completely drained of colour. "What?" she asked him.

Sirius ran his hands through his hair, struggling to find words to explain. Finally deciding that he might as well tell her the truth, he said, "Ella, I'm a wizard. I studied magic at a school up north and I'm a wizard."

"What?" Ella said, his words not sinking in. "Magic?"

"Yes, magic," Sirius said patiently. He picked up the cup from the floor and using his wand and a refilling charm, handed her a steaming cup of tea.

"A wizard?" she asked.

"Yes. Exactly," he told her.

She took a sip of tea and then looked at the cup. "So you are a wizard and that is your magic wand that you use to do magic tricks," she said slowly, trying to put it all together.

"Kind of," he told her, wondering for just a moment if he shouldn't just perform a memory charm and make her forget his blunder. "I don't do trucks, Ella. I don't pull rabbits out of hats. I do magic."

"Show me," she said simply. She didn't sound accusing, or judgmental or even disbelieving.

Sirius looked her in the eye and then, with a swish and flick of his wand, his tea cup hovered above the coffee table he was sitting upon. With a wave of his wand, it sat back on the table. He tapped the cup and with a small pop it turned into a white mouse. He tapped it again before it could scurry away and transfigured it back into a teacup.

"Oh my," said Ella, her eyes huge.

"That's just some basic stuff," he told her.

"Basic?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he said and smiled. "I'll ease you in."

Ella gave a small laugh. "I think I need a drink."

Sirius pointed his wand toward the kitchen and said, "Accio Ella's whiskey."

A half-full bottle of amber liquid flew out of a cabinet and into his waiting hand. He unstoppered it and poured a healthy dollop into her tea cup.

"Madness," she muttered.

"What's that?" he asked, pouring a generous shot of whiskey into his own cup.

"It's absolute madness. I finally meet a guy I like. We get on, have an incredible shag and then I go mad," Ella said, sounding amused.

"You're not mad," Sirius said. Then he asked, "incredible, eh?"

"Oh come off it," she teased back. "You know it was."

He reached a hand out and tilted her chin up to look at him. "I'd call it amazing," he said and leaned over and kissed her.

Ella asked him questions for the rest of the morning. Sirius was relieved to be able to be honest with her. He told her how all of his friends and family were witches and wizards, how he had studied magic for seven years at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was amazed by his stories of magic and the escapades he and his friends had gotten up to.

"So, if you have all these amazing powers, why in the world would you want to date someone normal like me?" Ella asked him.

"You are anything but normal to me," he told her. "I've always been around magic. Your muggle life is amazing to me."

"My what?" she asked him.

"Oh," and he actually blushed. "Muggle is our word for non-magical people."

"So you call me a muggle?"

"Well, technically, you are," Sirius said.

"Fine," Ella said, then she mumbled "stalker" under her breath.

"Muggle," he countered.

"So do you have some sort of magic job? Do you work in a magic shop or sell white rabbits?" she teased.

"No, I really don't have a job," he told her honestly.

Ella shook her head at him.

"You know," she said, "I'm still not sure which of us is the nutter."


	5. Chapter 5

Sirius knew his friends were watching him. They were sitting in the crowded staff room at Hogwarts with several Order members, including James, Lily and Albus Dumbledore. Sirius could feel James's eyes on him and he kept catching glimpses of James and Lily as they glanced away. He even thought he caught Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes on him once, making him feel almost as if he were being studied. Sirius was doing his best to pay attention to the meeting going on around him. He was doing his best to keep his mind from wandering back to the past week he had spent with Ella.

They had been constantly in each other's company, talking, laughing, making love. While together, they were almost always touching. Even over dinner, almost without realizing it, one of their fingers would reach out, seeking out the other. Sirius felt as if he could not get enough of her, his hand seeking her of it's on volition. When they made love, he felt whole. He felt like he could devour her and still not get enough. When he would pull away from her, the emptiness and loneliness was almost overwhelming. Never before had he felt like this about another person.

Sirius was surprised out of his reverie by the end of the meeting. He pulled his eyes away from the wall he'd been staring at to see that everyone else was standing and James and Lily were making their way over to him. Sirius quickly stashed the piece of parchment he'd been absently doodling on and stood up too. However, before anyone had a chance to say anything, Albus Dumbledore placed a hand on Sirius's shoulder and asked, "A word, Sirius?"

"Sure," Sirius answered. He mouthed the word, "later" to James and followed Dumbledore from the staff room down the hall and up to his office.

Dumbledore appeared ancient. His hair was long and grey, he wore a matching beard that reached down to his waist. He looked frail, but looks were deceiving. Sirius had to quicken his steps to keep up with him. He followed Dumbledore up the spiral staircase to the headmaster's office. Dumbledore waved a long-fingered hand toward one of the chairs and Sirius took a seat. Dumbledore took a seat at his desk, templed his fingers and looked at him.

"You seem very distracted, Sirius," Dumbledore said, cutting to the chase, his light blue eyes locking with Sirius's grey ones.

"I know, sir, I'm sorry," Sirius said simply. After seven years in school with Dumbledore, he knew better than to try and deceive him.

"Anything that you need to tell me?" he asked.

"Um, I think I've broken the law," Sirius said, surprising even himself.

"Oh?"

"I met a girl," he started.

"Hardly illegal," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"A muggle girl. And I accidently did magic in front of her."

"Oh," Dumbledore said in a much more serious tone.

"But she was ok with it," Sirius said quickly.

"Oh," Dumbledore said again. "And what did you tell her?"

"Everything," Sirius said.

"Everything?" Dumbledore asked quickly, looking almost severe.

"Well, nothing about the Order, of course. But about me, magic, school," Sirius told him. Dumbledore visibly relaxed as Sirius explained.

"And she took this news well?"

"She's amazing," Sirius said, and then looked at Dumbledore, felling foolish.

"Oh," Dumbledore said yet again, sounding more interested.

"She makes me feel ... complete," Sirius said.

"Sirius," Dumbledore asked tentatively, "Have you bonded with her?"

"Several times," Sirius said with a grin.

Dumbledore actually blushed before saying, "That's not what I meant. Occasionally, with wizards, if you are lucky, you find your soul's other half and you soul-bond with that person. Your souls become one."

Sirius sobered instantly and looked at Dumbledore as he asked, "How do I know if we've bonded?"

"A spell can be cast to reveal if the souls have merged. I can perform it for you," Dumbledore said. "This is very serious, though. If she is a muggle, she cannot protect herself from the evil that you have decided to fight. You will always have to keep her secret and separate in order to keep her safe."

"Of course," Sirius said.

"These are dangerous times," Dumbledore said gravely. "You must understand, Sirius, that if you are soul-bound, your lives become one. To keep yourself safe, you'll also have to keep her safe. Someone could kill you by killing her."

Sirius went pale, "Can we do the spell tonight? Do you want to come with me and meet her, sir?"

"Of course, let us walk outside the school grounds and then you can guide me to where she lives."

Quickly they walked outside the school and across the grounds. Neither man saying anything. Finally Sirius broke the silence and looked at the older man and said quietly, "When I'm inside her, sir, I feel like I'm home."

"Um," said Dumbledore, looking slightly uncomfortable, "yes, I see."

Once they had stepped outside the school grounds, Dumbledore put a hand on Sirius's arm and they both turned and disapparated. With a quiet 'pop', they apparated in the stairwell of Ella's building. Sirius lead the way to her door and knocked. After a moment, Ella opened the door and her face lit up when she saw Sirius. She must have been painting, there was a slash of green paint on her cheek and splatters of different colour paints were dotted over her hands. She looked up at Dumbledore and a confused look crossed her face before she smiled and gestured the two men inside.

"I didn't know you were bringing a ... friend," she said, hesitantly. "Can I get either of you anything?"

"Ella, this is Albus Dumbledore, Professor Dumbledore, Ella," Sirius introduced.

"My pleasure," Dumbledore said, extending a hand.

Ella reached out and shook his hand, saying, "Hello Professor, Eleanore Bennett. I'm pleased to meet you." Ella was feeling slightly uncomfortable, wishing she had known that Sirius was planning on bringing someone over with her. She felt very self-conscious in her old tank top and faded pair of cut-off shorts. Suddenly she was very aware of just how short her shorts were and just how old and threadbare her tank top was.

"Tea anyone?" she asked.

"Please," Sirius said as Dumbledore nodded.

She gestured them toward the living room and walked into the kitchen. Sirius followed her as Dumbledore walked over to Meeps's perch. "Magnificent bird," she heard him mutter.

"Here, I'll get the tea," Sirius told her. "I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to warn you that we were coming."

"It's all right. I'm going to go change. I'll be right back," she said, ducking down the hall.

True to her word, by the time Sirius had gathered the tea things, Ella was back, face and hands clean, wearing clean jeans and a t-shirt. With a smile, she sat down opposite the men, and taking a teacup smiled at them both.

"I wish I had known I had green paint all over my face before answering the door," she said with a laugh.

"Ella is a painter," Sirius told Dumbledore. "She goes to art school here in London."

"Lovely," Dumbledore said, taking a sip of tea. "Art is a talent I have always admired. I would love to see your work."

"She's very talented," Sirius said.

"Thank you," Ella said, blushing.

Dumbledore set down his teacup and looked from Ella to Sirius. "Would you like to explain why I'm here, Sirius?" He asked quietly.

"Um, Ella, I've told him about us and about what you know. There is, um" Sirius started, stumbling over his words, not sure how to continue.

"Eleanore, my dear," Dumbledore said, "There is a very simple and painless spell I need your permission to cast."

Ella looked at them both and then quietly said, "You're going to brainwash me, aren't you?"

"No my dear. This won't harm either of you. I just need to your hand and Sirius's hand," he said soothingly, extending a hand to each of them.

Sirius placed his hand in Dumbledore's cool one immediately. Tentatively, Ella placed her hand in Dumbledore's as well. She was surprised by the firm grip in which he held hers. Dumbledore was silent, his eyes closed as he held their hands. After just a moment, he opened his eyes and released their hands. His face was grave.

"Eleanore," he said, "I know you have accepted quite a bit in a very short time. Sirius has assured me that you shall hold all he has told you in strictest confidence, and after meeting you today, I can't help but agree."

"However," he continued, "I must ask you to stretch your mind a little more this afternoon."

"Yes sir," Ella said, looking concerned.

"Eleanore," Dumbledore began, "What has happened between you and Sirius is a very rare thing. This seldom happens between magical people and it is made even more rare because you are a muggle. But, every so often, one soul meets its other half. When that happens and if the two souls recognize each other, the souls can bond and become one. This has happened with you and Sirius."

"So you're saying that we are soul-mates?" she asked.

"Of a sort, yes."

"So he's my Mr. Right and I might as well just hang it up now and marry him?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying. Although most bonded souls do eventually marry, there has been a case or two where it hasn't worked that way. You both may do as you please. I'm certainly not saying that you will always get along or that you will live happily ever after. Although," and here he smiled, "I, of course, always hope for the best."

"What I am saying is that no matter what the future may hold, there is an unbreakable bond between your souls. Your lives are forever joined."

"Joined?" Ella asked.

"Ella, I'm sorry," Sirius said, speaking for the first time in a while. "I didn't do this to you on purpose."

Ella just looked at Sirius. He could tell she wasn't sure what to think about this. She looked back to Dumbledore and asked, "So by joined you mean...?" her voice trailed off into the question.

"Usually, when a muggle is involved, it is more of an issue for the witch or wizard, as muggles live shorter lives."

"Oh?"

"But, Eleanore, these are very dangerous times. There is great evil in the magical world right now and Sirius has chosen to join a group of people that are fighting that evil. Now, however, he is not only choosing to place his own life in danger, he places your life in danger as well. His life is no longer the only one he holds in his hands."

"If he dies, I die?" Ella asked, her dark blue eyes locking with Dumbledore's lighter blue ones.

"Yes."

Ella looked at Sirius and asked, "Can you make a difference in this fight?"

"I hope so," he answered.

"Is it worth fighting for?"

"Yes," Sirius answered vehemently.

"Well then you have to fight," she said.

Dumbledore reached out a hand, placing it on her shoulder. "It's a very brave choice you've made."

Ella laughed and said, "Brave maybe or stupid. You know, most artists don't gain any notoriety until they're dead. Maybe it's just a calculated career move."

Ella sobered and looked at Sirius. "I won't tell you to be careful. That's how mistakes are made. So just don't die, ok?"

"I'll do my best," Sirius promised.

Albus stayed for just a little while longer. After finishing his tea, Ella introduced him to Meeps, her hyacinth macaw, and at his request she also took him into the small room where she did her painting and showed him some of her work. Then Albus very politely made his good byes and, after shaking Sirius's hand and placing a kiss on Ella's cheek, returned to school.


	6. Chapter 6

"You're mad, aren't you?" Sirius asked, walking back into the flat after escorting Dumbledore safely down the hall.

"No," Ella said softly.

Her face, Sirius noted, was still paler than usual and she wouldn't meet his eyes. "What is it?" he asked, sitting on the coffee table, facing her as she sat on the sofa. She shrugged at him. "Ella, please talk to me."

"That's just it, isn't it? I talk to you. I open up to you. I shag you. What do I get? Some sort of magic hoo-doo locking my soul with yours. Oh, but that's not all, is it?" Her voice was getting louder as she picked up steam. "Oh no, I bond my soul with some sort of top-secret magical crime fighter, don't I? You're some sort of James Bond of the 'wizarding world,' aren't you?" She gave a short laugh, but Sirius noticed her hands were trembling slightly, "And what about me? What about simple Ella who just wants to paint? Simple Ella who waits tables at a crappy diner for only half-way decent money just to make ends meet? Oh well, me... I can just snuff it at any time, huh? Just because I met a guy who is my soul-mate and he's a crime-fighting, super-fricking-hero!" She panted, trying to catch her breath.

"Ella, I didn't do this on purpose. I never set out to hurt you," Sirius said softly. "Or trap you."

"I know," Ella replied, her tone softening. Her eyes met his and Sirius moved next to her on the sofa. Ella snuggled herself into him and he pulled her into his lap, "This is just going to take a little getting used to," Ella told him. "I've never had a soul-mate before."

"Me neither," Sirius said, his hand stroking her back absently.

A little later, Sirius asked Ella, "Would it be all right if James and Lily came over here? I want you to get to know them and if I don't explain myself to them soon, they're just going to hunt me down and show up anyhow."

"Sure. Give them a call," Ella told him.

"Uh, well..." Sirius said, hoping to not upset her again now that he'd finally gotten her calmed down, "Wizards don't use phones, Ella. We usually send messages by owl."

"Owl?" she asked, and then she shook her head, "No, I won't ask. So you send messages by owl. That's lovely and perfectly normal. Unfortunately I believe I'm fresh out of owls."

"Can I ask Meeps to make a delivery?" He asked her hesitantly.

Ella laughed at him, she couldn't help herself. Once she realized that Sirius was serious about having the macaw deliver a message, she sobered.

"Sure," she told him. "You can ask Meeps to deliver your message. But he'll probably bite your finger off when you give the letter to him. Or, he'll fly out the window to never been seen again." She paused and then said, "or, if by some miracle he does deliver the letter, he'll probably bite off the finger of the recipient."

"Oh ye of little faith," said Sirius.

"I think," Ella said, "that I'm going to go shower. You do what you need to do. But Sirius, please try not to lose my bird while I'm gone."

Ella placed a kiss on Sirius's forehead and disappeared down the hallway. Half an hour later, she returned feeling much better. Her curly hair was still damp, but the colour had returned to her face. She was wearing her favorite faded jeans with a pink halter top. Sirius was sitting on the sofa, deep in conversation when she walked in the room. He caught a glimpse of her and stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes drawn to the pale skin and curves she was displaying. Ella blushed at the almost hungry look in his eye.

Realizing he was staring, Sirius blinked and said, "Ella, do you remember James and Lily?"

"Oh yeah, hullo," Ella said, looking away from Sirius and smiling at the couple sitting with him.

"Thanks for having us over," Lily said. "We were beginning to wonder if Sirius had been kidnaped."

Ella laughed, "No, not kidnaped. I just can't seem to get rid of him."

Sirius narrowed his eyes at Ella. "I could leave at anytime," he said. "I just don't want to."

Ella walked closer to Sirius and he pulled her down onto his lap.

"Pa-Sirius was just telling us how you found out he's a wizard," James said, hoping he was quick enough to cover his use of Sirius's nickname.

Ella's head whipped around to look at Sirius, but he grinned at her and said, "I didn't tell them everything about it, love."

Ella blushed a deep shade of red. James and Lily, noticing this look, realized there was a little more to their friend's story.

James winked at Lily, "We'll get it out of them, don't worry." He reached into a bag beside him and pulled out a full bottle of amber-coloured liquid.

"Whisky?" Ella asked.

"Oh a sort," James said, winking at Sirius. "Do you have glasses?"

"Is that-" Sirius started to ask, but James answered before he could even finish his question.

"Old Ogden's finest, you bet!" he laughed

"But what about-" Sirius asked, looking toward Ella.

"What about me?" Ella asked. "I recall drinking you under the table not too long ago."

"You heard the woman!" James said.

Lily stood up and asked, "Glasses?"

Ella jumped up and led her into the kitchen. They grabbed four glasses and a bag of pretzels. Ella had just set the glasses down on the coffee table when they were interrupted by a flash of light in the living room. A magnificent-looking red and gold bird had appeared in a flash of flame. The bird was huge, making even Meeps look small. The bird flew directly to Sirius, dropped a small scroll in his lap and with a nod of his head, disappeared in another flash of light. The room had grown silent at the bird's appearance. As soon as it disappeared, James, Lily and Ella broker into speech.

"What does Dumbledore want?" James asked.

"Are we needed?" Lily asked.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ella asked

"Dumbledore's bird," James answered quickly, keeping his eyes on Sirius as he read the message.

"Dumbledore feels," Sirius told them, "That our discussion with him, Ella, should remain between only us. However, he does say that he believes James and Lily could be trusted with the secret as well."

"What secret?" James asked immediately.

"Oh." Ella said. She hadn't even thought about telling anyone about the soul-binding. "I think ... I think that the whisky is looking better and better," she said with a laugh.

"I like the way she thinks!" James said, pouring them each a shot.

"We'll tell you our secret if you tell us yours," Lily said slyly, giving Sirius a wink. She knew he couldn't resist the idea of them withholding a secret from him.

James slid their glasses across the table to each of them. Raising his own glass, he said, "To secrets."

They clinked their glasses and swallowed their shots. As Ella slammed her empty glass down on the coffee table, she wasn't sure if her esophagus was on fire or if her head was going to explode. The whisky burned a path straight to her stomach. Once reaching her stomach, the heat flowed out across her body. She gasped for air as she felt her cheeks burn bright read.

"Firewhisky," Sirius answered her unspoken question.

Ella was finally able to get enough air in her lungs to sputter out a cough. James, Lily and Sirius laughed at her as she struggled to regain her composure.

"The first shot is always like that," Lily assured her.

Then Lily picked up the bottle and poured another round. Ella narrowed her eyes as she looked at the glass and then, giving a shrug, downed her shot with everyone else. Lily was right, the second shot was no where near as violent as the first. Within moments, Ella discovered she was feeling much better. The stress of the evening's conversation with Dumbledore along with his revelations faded as the firewhisky flowed into her bloodstream. Everything, she noticed, was actually a little funny. She also couldn't seem to stop the grin that was spreading across her face.

"So," James said. "What this secret Ol' Dumbledore thinks you should share with us?"

"Oh, it's all his fault," Ella said, waving a hand toward Sirius, noticing that her words were starting to slur.

"I'm not surprised about that. Most things are," Lily said, grinning at her friend.

"It's not my fault, Ella," Sirius corrected her. "It just happened. It's part your fault, too."

"Oh my god, she's pregnant," James said, staring at Sirius.

"No," Ella said, giving Sirius a teasing look, "worse!"

"Worse?" Lily asked them, looking between Sirius and Ella, who was swaying slightly.

"He's my soul-mate and now we're locked together!" Ella told them, clapping her hands together as illustration.

"Merlin's pants!" James exclaimed, which made Ella start to giggle.

"And he's a magical crime fighter so now I'm going to die," Ella said, starting to laugh harder. "Ridiculous, huh?"

Ella didn't notice that she was the only one laughing. Sirius, James and Lily shared a serious look between them as Ella continued to laugh to herself.

"You're soul-bound?" Lily asked Sirius.

"Yup. Dumbledore came over tonight and confirmed it. I don't know how he realized it to start with, tho," Sirius told them.

James poured them each another shot, only giving Ella a small splash of whisky.

"Maybe it's stronger for Muggles," he said with a grin as Ella wiped tears of laughter out of her eyes.

"If she just found this out tonight, James, she deserves to get wrecked," Lily said, giving Ella a sympathetic look. "Oh and Dumbledore could tell, Sirius, because all you did during the entire meeting was stare at the wall like a mooncalf or sigh pathetically. We could all tell _something_ was up with you."

"Oh," Sirius said and blushed. "I've had the best couple of weeks in my life with her," he told them.

James clasped his shoulder and said, "If you're happy, Padfoot, I'm happy for you."

"Hey, now it's your turn. What's your secret?" Sirius asked

"Lily has agreed to marry me," James said proudly.

"Really? So there's going to be a Mrs. Prongs, eh?" Sirius asked, smiling at his friend.

"Padfoot? Prongs?" Ella asked. She had stopped laughing, and had grown quite quiet all of a sudden.

"Just nicknames, love. I'll fill you in later," Sirius told her.

"Sirius?" Ella asked in a small voice.

"Yes, love?"

"I don't feel so good."

Sirius and James both leapt to their feet and Sirius helped Ella down the hall. He was gone for about ten minutes before coming back into the living room alone.

"That settles that," he said. "Firewhisky is DEFINITELY not good for muggles."

James and Lily laughed before Lily asked, "She all right?"

"Yeah, already asleep."

"Padfoot," James said, "You'll be my best man, won't you?"

"Of course!" Sirius told him happily.

The bottle of firewhisky was almost empty by the time Lily and James returned to their flat. James planted a kiss on Lily's forehead before pulling her toward their bedroom.

"So," James said, sitting at the foot of their bed. "Now we have a best man. Alice Longbottom is the maid of honour. There's no getting out of it now, Evans."

"Soon to be Potter, Potter," Lily smiled down at him.

"Yes, soon to be Potter," James agreed.

"It's nice to see Sirius so happy," Lily said.

"It's weird, you mean," James corrected her. "I don't think I've ever seen him date the same girl twice. Now he's soul-bound with a muggle?"

"But he seems to be happy about it," Lily said, determined to see the bright side.

"Yeah, he's happy about it now. We'll see how he feels about it in six months or six years."

"Or sixty years. They're soul-bound, James. No matter what, they're connected forever."

"She's not that pretty," James said quietly.

"Oh James, I think she's lovely."

"And she can't hold her liquor. How is he going to be with someone that can't hold their liquor? Sirius loves to drink."

"Yes, he loves to drink," Lily agreed. "But giving her firewhisky wasn't exactly fair, was it? It might not have even been safe to give that to a muggle."

"Fine," James agreed, sounding almost sullen. "But you're prettier."

"James?" Lily asked him, laying down in the bed.

"Yeah?"

"You know that Sirius will still be your friend, right? There's no need to be jealous."

"I'm not jealous!" he said quickly.

"James. Sirius will still be your friend. But you need to be his and accept Ella. She's going to be a part of his life in some form forever."

James opened his mouth to say something else, but for once, he was at a loss for words.

"Come to bed and you can tell me more about how much prettier I am," Lily said smiling and patting the empty space beside her.


	7. Chapter 7

I am so sorry that I haven't updated in so long. If anyone is still reading this, I appreciate it and I won't take as long to update again!

* * *

After that night, it was decided that firewhisky was not to be consumed by muggles. Although she put up a good fight, Ella was glad with the group decision and decided to stick with Irish whisky in the future. The following weeks seemed to fly by. Sirius found himself spending most of his time at Ella's flat, only stopping by his own flat from time to time. Ella spent less and less time working at the diner, Sirius was more than happy to make sure she was able to make ends meet. Finally, they came to the logical conclusion that Sirius should give up his flat and move in while Ella should give up her job at the diner.

"You'll be able to spend more time painting," Sirius said in his most convincing tone.

Ella gave Sirius a quick kiss goodbye and left to work her last shift at the diner. She'd been gone only a few minutes before a knock sounded at the door. Sirius was surprised to find Lily standing there, mischievous grin lighting her face. The two worked hard while she was gone, casting spells to clean, redecorate and magically enlarge the apartment. By the time Ella came home, the apartment was barely recognizable. Ella was most thrilled with the studio they had created for her with its wall of windows facing east to catch the morning sun.

As time went by, Ella learned to occupy herself with painting during those times when Sirius was out working for the Order. The first time he went out on a job after Dumbledore's visit was one of the longest nights of Ella's life. She jumped at every sound, expecting to drop dead at any moment. When Sirius arrived home later that night unscathed, Ella realized she had to let her worry go. Instead of allowing herself to worry about what might happen, she decided to be ready to accept whatever did happen.

Several nights a week were spent with Lily, James, Remus and Peter. Lily was very friendly with Ella, glad to have another girl hanging out with them. The guys, however, were a different story. From their first meeting, it was evident to Ella that they had been close friends for a very long time. Friendships like that, she knew, were not overly accepting of newcomers. Lily, though not a part of the 'boys club', had gone to school with them. Ella, however, was an outsider. Not being a magic-user mad her feel even more different from them.

None of the guys were rude to her by any means, but there was a definite distance, and each had their own way of demonstrating it. James seemed to always bring up old school memories, which Ella could only listen to, but not really join in. Remus was polite, but seemed distant and slightly distrustful of Ella, as if he expected her to leave Sirius at any moment. Peter seemed to restrict his conversation with Ella to little more than greetings.

Ella took it well. She'd spent much of her life in the role of a loner, usually having only a few good friends versus larger groups. She enjoyed spending time with Lily, who came from a muggle family and had more in common with Ella. She also enjoyed the double-dates she and Sirius went on with James and Lily. James was more accepting of Ella on these occasions than when the guys were all together.

As James and Lily's wedding approached, it was hard for Ella not to get swept into the excitement along with Lily. She was constantly asking Ella's opinion on her ideas and was thrilled when Ella offered to design, draw and letter all of the invitations. Frank and Alice Longbottom, a married couple a few years older than the others, started coming over often. Alice was Lily's maid of honor and the three girls enjoyed discussing wedding plans when they got together.

Finally the day of the wedding arrived. The ceremony and reception were being held at Lily's mother's house, in the back garden. Ella found herself feeling emotional during the ceremony, and wiped a tear from her eye. Sirius, standing up beside James and looking quite handsome, winked at her. After the ceremony, the chairs were magically folded away, replaced with a dance floor and small tables for the reception.

Ella picked up a fresh glass of champagne from a passing waiter and worked her way through the crowd. The reception was in full swing and everyone seemed to be having fun. Ella, taking a break from the dance floor, made her way toward the back door of the house. She wandered inside, walking down the hallway to the front door, hoping to find a private place on the front porch to catch her breath. She paused in hallway to look a family photo hanging on the wall by the staircase leading upstairs.

In the photo, Lily was immediately recognizable, even at the age of only five or six, her green eyes flashing and her red hair shining. Next to her was another girl, a little bit older and not as pretty, her arm around Lily affectionately. Their parents stood behind the girls, both Mother and Father looking happy and proud of their family. Ella was puzzled. Lily's mother was at a table in the backyard. She knew Lily's dad had died over a year ago from a heart attack. Where was the sister and why wasn't she here at the wedding. Ella shook her head, "Stop being nosy," she thought to herself and walked out the front door.

"Oh hello," she said brightly, surprised to find another guest out front and disappointed that her quiet place was already occupied.

The man's head whipped around to look at Ella, his cold black eyes taking her by surprise as they glared at her. Ella couldn't recall seeing him inside, thinking she would remember him with his greasy black hair hanging in sheets on either side of his angry face. Despite his intense glare, Ella decided to try again.

"It was a beautiful ceremony, wasn't it?" she asked him.

She saw a fleeting glimpse cross his face, softening his features for just a moment before it hardened back into a glare.

"It's over then? They're married?" He asked in a low voice.

Ella was flustered, not sure how to answer. She was saved from having to come up with a response as the front door opened and Remus poked his head out for just a moment before calling back inside, "Found her, Sirius."

Remus stepped outside on to the porch. The smile slipped from his face as he saw the man Ella was talking with.

"You should leave," he said, his voice colder than Ella had ever heard it.

Sirius came out onto the porch, a bottle of beer in hand, a large smile on his face. His eyes locked with Ella's for just a moment before sliding to the face of the man standing on the lawn.

"Snivellus," he growled.

In a fluid motion, he dropped the bottle of beer and pulled out his wand, his face deathly serious. As the bottle shattered, the man on the lawn turned and disapperated. Ella was in shock, the hem of her dress was wet from the shattered bottle. Sirius's face was deathly white, his jaw clenched. With a few waves of his wand, Remus quickly repaired the broken bottle and dried Ella's dress.

"Who was that?" Ella asked them.

"Severus Snape," Remus told her. "He went to school with us."

"What did he say?" Sirius asked Remus, his voice cold.

"Nothing," Remus answered.

"I didn't know who he was," Ella said. "I thought he was a guest too. He didn't say anything at first. When I made a comment about the ceremony he just asked me if it was over and if they were married. Then you both came out and he was gone."

"James would kill him if he knew he'd been here," Sirius said.

"Then he doesn't need to find out," Ella said quickly. "Not now, at least."

"El, you don't understand," Sirius said, but was interrupted by Remus's calm tone.

"She's right, Sirius. It's his wedding day. We can't ruin his wedding day. There's no need to worry him about this now. It's just Snape," Remus said.

Sirius was agitated, his wand still clasped in his fist. Remus decided to go back inside, leaving Ella to deal with Sirius and his anger.

"Who the hell does he think he is showing up here? Trying to ruin James's wedding? Talking to you?"

"Sirius, you have to let it go. If you don't then _you'll_ ruin their wedding. He didn't do any harm and he's gone now. Besides, he didn't want to talk to me, I just wouldn't shut up," Ella said with a smile.

"No, that makes sense, he wouldn't want to talk to you," Sirius muttered. At Ella's raised eyebrow he said, "He wouldn't talk to a muggle, Ella. He would think you were beneath him. He's a Death Eater. I'm sure of it."

"Really?" Ella asked him. "But he looked so normal."

"Well, I don't know for sure, but I bet he is. And no one that greasy and with that nose can look normal, Ella," Sirius corrected her, his face finally breaking into a smile.

"Are you calm enough now? We really need to head back, they'll be looking for you soon."

"Yeah, and no more wandering off, by the way," Sirius said, giving her a stern look.

"Yes sir."

The remainder of the reception passed without incident. It was late that night by the time Ella and Sirius made it back to their apartment.

As they went into their bedroom, Ella gave Sirius a sly look. "You know," she said, "I went shopping with Lily when she went to the fancy lingerie store."

"Oh yeah?" Sirius asked her, giving her his undivided attention.

"Oh yeah," She said with a smirk. "And Lily wasn't the only one to buy something naughty."

As Ella led Sirius into the bedroom he thought that even though it was James's wedding night and not his own, he was just as lucky as his best friend.


	8. Chapter 8

"So, what do you think about children..."

"Sirius, we need to talk..."

"I have something I need to tell you..."

Each attempt Ella made at starting an imaginary conversation with Sirius petered out, ending in a disgruntled sigh. The test results Ella was looking at, however, were quite vivid and not imaginary. She was, according to the two blue lines, pregnant.

Ella pulled herself up from the edge of the bathtub, where she had been sitting while she waited for her test results. Stashing the pregnancy test at the bottom of the trash bin, she walked over to the sink. After washing her hands, she splashed cold water on her face and eyed her reflection in the mirror. Although she looked paler than usual, she looked no different. Certainly, she thought, she didn't look pregnant. She ran a hand over her belly, which was still firm and flat. She didn't feel pregnant, either. But look and feel aside, she was pregnant, and that was that.

Ella walked out of the bathroom and past her studio. She knew she should have gone in to do some work, but instead she went right for the couch, flicking on the telly before she sat down. She stared at the screen without really paying it any mind. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there before a knock sounded on the door. Pulling herself up, she opened the door to find Lily standing in the hallway sporting a smile from ear to ear, her green eyes flashing.

"Lily, hi, come in," Ella said, trying to sound normal.

"You all right?" Lily asked, as she walked inside and headed for the living room.

"Yeah," Ella answered, "working on a big project this week."

Lily glanced at the telly, currently showing a stupid daytime quiz show, and grinned, "Uh huh, I see that."

The girls sat down on the sofa. Lily pulled her legs up under her and sat sideways to face Ella.

"I'm sorry to just pop in on you like this - what with your big project and all," Lily said, in a teasing tone of voice.

"What's up?"

"I just can't keep this to myself. El, I'm just going to explode! It's James. He's agreed. I'm going to have a baby!" Lily was so excited with her news that it took her a moment to realize that her friend had just burst into tears. "Or at least we're going to start trying to have one!"

Noticing Ella's tears, she immediately switched gears, "What? What's wrong?" She asked, her voice full of concern.

"Oh Lil, I'm pregnant," Ella said, tears running down her face.

"What?" Lily exclaimed. "What does Sirius think? He didn't say anything mean to you, did he?"

"No, he does-doesn't know yet. I just found out. I d-don't even know how to tell him or what he's going to say or even how he's going to react!"

Ella's blue eyes met Lily's green ones before Lily pulled her into a hug, Ella continuing to cry on her shoulder. Once she had cried herself out, Lily went into the kitchen and made tea. She was so flustered that she didn't even use magic. She brought two steaming mugs of tea, along with a big plate of biscuits back to the sofa and sat down next to Ella.

Nibbling absent-mindedly on a biscuit, she asked, "So when are you going to tell him?"

"I dunno. I guess once he gets home tonight and we're alone," Ella replied. "I don't know what to say. We've never even discussed having kids. Everything's happened so quickly with us -"

"It has," Lily agreed, interrupting her. "But it's all worked out well so far, hasn't it? He loves you so much, El. You can see it in his eyes. When he looks at you, he sees no one else."

Ella smiled at Lily. "Yeah, but this is a lot. Hell, I don't know how I feel about having a kid. It's not something I ever really planned for."

"Really?" Lily asked, sound surprised. "I've always wanted kids. At least four."

"Four? Good grief."

"Yes," Lily answered, then, ticking them off on her fingers, "A boy first, then two girls, then another boy. That way the girls will have an older brother to look after them and a younger brother to baby."

"Ok, you've put way too much thought into that," Ella teased. "Have you already named them?"

"Maybe," Lily answered with a wink.

Lily left a short while later, when she was certain Ella was going to be all right. Once she was alone, Ella decided she really should get to work on her project. She made her way into the studio to work on the large blank canvas she had been avoiding. As usual, she allowed herself to focus on her painting, and close her mind to all of the other thoughts trying to occupy her. As she worked, she lost track of time. Long shadows cast by the late Autumn sun crept across the room, and Ella began to wrap up her day. She was cleaning brushes with turpentine and an old rag when Sirius poked his head in the doorway.

Wrinkling his nose at the odor, he said, "Hello, love. I've brought pizza."

Startled, Ella gave a little jump before smiling at Sirius, "I'll be done in a few. I'm starved."

She finished her cleaning ritual, which ended with her studio cleaned, brushes ready for the next day, and her face and hands free of any paint splatters, and headed into the living room to find Sirius. She wasn't surprised to see he had already started in on the pie. As they ate, Sirius told Ella all about the Quidditch match he had been to that afternoon with James. He enjoyed her looks of disbelief as he explained the wizarding game played fifty feet in the air on flying brooms. Finally he had to show her a book filled with magic, moving pictures, to prove the sport's existence. Ella let him speak and enjoy his food. 'No need to spoil the meal,' she thought, picking at her pizza and watching him eat slice after slice with gusto.

Sirius finished his final piece, popping the last bite of crust into his mouth with a flourish, and asked, "So what did you get up to today?"

'Here goes,' she thought.

"Well, I worked on my project some. Lily came over for some tea," she paused and took a deep breath, "and I found out that I'm pregnant."

The last words came out very quickly and quietly. As Sirius looked at her, he reminded Ella of a fish out of water. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but, with a blank look, closed it again.

He did this several times before Ella finally said, "Sirius! Say something. Please?"

"I - well - I don't know what to say," Sirius said. He reached out a hand and clasped Ella's cold fingers reassuringly. "Pregnant. A baby. Wow," he said quietly.

He sat there, looking at their clasped fingers. Ella felt she could see the wheels turning in his mind as he tried to grasp the meaning of the words he had spoken. Ella sat there quietly, trying to allow him time to digest the information, trying not to let him see how impatient she was, waiting for his reaction.

She was shocked when he began to chuckle. Her mouth opened a little as his chuckles turned into laughs. When his laughs turned into great booming barks of laughter, tears welling up in his eyes, his arms holding his sides as he rocked with laughs, her shock began to turn into anger.

"What?" she asked, a little sharply. "What is so funny?"

"Oh El, love, I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you or at this," he said, trying to catch his breath. "It's just - well, you don't know my mother, but she's horrid. She's obsessed with wizard bloodlines and such," he tried to explain. "I'm just," he started to laugh harder, "picturing her reaction! Oh, Ella. When she finds out that her grandchild, the heir of the Black family, is going to have a muggle for a mother," he sobered slightly, his grey eyes still showing tears of laughter as they met her blue ones, "that's great. I will set a new standard in disappointment."

Ella didn't know what to say, and so she said, "Oh."

"It's all right, Ella. I've never cared what that old bat thought about anything I did. And she wouldn't be much of a grandmother to any child I had," Sirius tried to explain. "Come here," he said, pulling her into his lap.

"Are you all right with this?" Ella asked him, feeling more vulnerable with him than she ever had before.

"I'll be honest, I hadn't expected this. But I'm all right with it. It'll be fun, right?"

"That's one word for it, I suppose," Ella agreed, placing kisses on his neck behind his ear.

Sirius pulled her in for a deeper kiss and she melted against him. He began to tighten his arm around her waist when she jumped up suddenly.

"I have to tell Lily I've told you! Will you help me send Meeps with a message?"

"Lily knows?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"Yeah, she came over today and I just had to tell someone," Ella explained.

"We'll need to have her and James over then. Besides, I have to ask James to be my best man."

"Your best man what?"

"Well, we'll be getting married soon. I'll need a best man. He's my best mate, he's my best man."

"Married?" Ella asked him, stopped in her tracks.

"Well, yeah," Sirius said, both of them giving the other an identical look. "You're pregnant, right? So we need to get married."

"We didn't need to get married for me to get knocked up. Why do we need to be married now?"

"Don't you want to get married?" Sirius asked, slightly exasperated.

"No," Ella replied simply, "I don't."

"No?" Sirius asked, reverting back to his fish-out-of-water look.

"No. I don't want to get married." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "what would that change for us, Sirius? Other than putting a ring on my finger, that is? We're already bonded for life, aren't we? Now we're having a baby... You got me, Sirius. How much more yours can I be?" She gave a small laugh, before sobering and saying, "I have no family and you don't speak to yours... Honestly, it's just nothing that's important to me. Is it really important to you?"

Sirius considered her question for a moment before asking, "You really don't want to get married?"

"No," she answered, leaning forward to kiss him. "I like how we are now. Besides, from what everyone has told me, including yourself, every Mrs. Black in the knowable past has been a real bitch. I think I'd be better off to stay Miss Bennett."

Sirius laughed before pulling Ella into a hug, kissing the top of her head and murmuring, "We're going to have a baby."


	9. Chapter 9

Although Ella's body had not begun to change outwardly, inwardly she was very aware of changes going on. Morning sickness was more of an all-day sickness, but broken up with bouts of dizziness. Her hormones were completely out of whack. She could go from tears to laugher and back again to tears in a matter of minutes. Her belly was still flat, but Ella had fallen into the habit of rubbing it absently-mindedly. Sirius had noted this new habit, but deciding it was cute, chose not to tease her about it.

The weeks leading up to Christmas went by very quickly. Ella couldn't remember the last time she had been so excited about the holiday. She had sold three paintings over the last month and the money was burning a hole in her pocket. With only two days until Christmas, Ella and Sirius had spent their morning decorating a large Christmas tree Sirius had brought home the night before.

After setting up the tree in its stand, Sirius had raised his wand, ready to charm decorations onto the tree. Ella raised a hand to stop him, insisting that the tree be decorated the 'muggle way.' "You'll enjoy it more decorating it by hand, Sirius," she promised. When they were finished, the flat had been turned into the closest they could manage to a Christmas-Wonderland.

Ella and Sirius spent a quiet Christmas Eve snuggled on the couch. They cuddled under a blanket, enjoying the fire Sirius had conjured for them. The twinkling lights on the Christmas tree glowed softly, the only other source of light in the room. Snow fell softly outside, but inside all was warm and snug.

"Just think, this time next year we'll be getting ready for Baby's first Christmas," Sirius said, his hand straying down to Ella's stomach.

"I don't think it will be anywhere near as quiet or relaxing," Ella said, enjoying the feeling of Sirius softly stroking her belly. "Oh," she sighed, "I just love Christmas. I can't wait to give you your gift."

"There's no need to wait. I'll let you give it to me now," Sirius offered in his most helpful voice.

"I don't think so, Mr. Black. You'll wait 'til Christmas morning just like all the other boys and girls," Ella scolded him.

"Fine. Maybe I'll make you wait until Boxing Day."

"That's not fair," Ella said. "Christmas gifts are to be opened Christmas morning. That's the rule," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Sirius woke up the next morning to Ella lightly nibbling on his earlobe. He slowly opened his eyes to meet hers, which were twinkling in excitement. Sirius reached up a hand to pull her closer to him so that he could give her a proper kiss.

"Have I told you that I like it when you kiss me and your face is still all scratchy?" Ella asked him, rubbing her fingers across the stubble on Sirius's cheek.

"Really?" he asked her, rubbing his chin on her cheek, making her giggle.

"Really." She told him, trying to pull away as he moved to tickle her neck. He placed small kisses along the side of her neck, in just the spot he knew she liked. She started to lean in toward him, but quickly stiffened and pulled away.

"No, Sirius! Stop," she said as his drowsy eyes widened in surprise. "Christmas! Prezzies!"

"Fine! Let's open prezzies, then. But I'll have you know, you may have blown your only chance at this," he called, waving one arm up and down the length of his body with a grin.

His call was wasted, tho, Ella had grabbed her robe and already left the bedroom. Sirius's barking laughter filled the bedroom as he got up, its sudden loudness startling the cat from the foot of the bed. Joining Ella in the kitchen, Sirius waved his wand, making them each a cup of tea.

"Man I love that trick," Ella said as she took a sip.

Making their way into the living room, they sat down by the tree to a pile of presents each. As they opened their gifts, their stack of brightly colored boxes turned into a pile of new sweaters, socks and books. Sirius reached for the last gift from his pile, a small box, about the size of a jewelry box. He looked at it a moment before opening it and revealing a key. As he held it up, Ella told him, "What that goes to is on the roof." Sirius raised his eyebrow at her and stood up.

They bundled up into their coats, Ella smiling to herself as she pulled on her new purple mittens and matching hat. They left the flat and trooped up the stairs at the end of the hall and making their way to the roof.

"I hope you like this," Ella said as she stomped up the stairs behind Sirius.

"Me too," he said, Ella enjoying the sound of curiosity in his voice.

They finally reached the exit to the roof. Sirius paused to let Ella catch up with him. Then he pushed open the door. There, on the roof, sitting in the snow that had fallen overnight, was a large, black and chrome motorbike. Sirius crossed over to it in two strides.

"Oh, no way," he breathed.

"Do you like it?" Ella asked anxiously.

"How did you -" Sirius started to ask, and but stopped midword and instead asked "How in the world did you get this on the roof?"

"James and Peter," she answered. "Do you like it?" she asked again.

"Holy hippogriffs, Ella!" he exclaimed. "It's bloody incredible."

"Oh good! I was so worried."

"How the hell did you afford this?" he asked, looking at her in amazement.

"P-paintings," she stammered, the cold starting to get to her. "I s-sold some art-t."

Sirius looked over at Ella, who was starting to shiver visibly, and then looked back at his bike. With one last glimpse at his bike, he walked back to Ella, wrapping his arms around her.

"You're amazing," he said. "I've always wanted one. Thank you, Ella." He bent down and kissed her before turning and pulling her back to the doorway to the building, their flat and warmth.

On their way back downstairs, Ella said, "James, Remus and Peter are going to come over later. They want to check out the bike with you. You know, play with your new toy."

Sirius had a big grin on his face as they walked back into the flat. Ella quirked an eyebrow at him as she walked back over to the sofa. She held up her empty cup to Sirius with a smile. With a flourish, he waved his wand and refilled it using a charm.

"I can see your mind working, Mr. Black," Ella told him, unable to keep a straight face. "When you're up to no good, your eyes get sparkly."

"No good?" he asked, his grin turning into a smile. "No, it's good. Actually, It's a great idea. I just need to work on it with James when he gets over here."

"Oh I don't think I even want to know."

"Good," Sirius said, "because I'm not ready to tell you. Not yet, at least," he said smugly. "Hey, what's that on the tree?"

"What?" Ella asked, looking to where Sirius pointed.

"That. Right there," he pointed again.

Ella walked up to the tree and found a small box wrapped in gold paper sitting on one of the branches. She pulled it out and walked back to the sofa where she sat down next to Sirius. The box was labeled, to: e from: s

"Open it," Sirius urged her.

Ella unwrapped the gold paper to find a small black box. She pried it open and inside was a wide, rose-gold band with tiny diamonds embedded flush in the band. Each diamond was set into a white-gold star. Ella picked up the ring and slid it onto the ring finger of her right hand. It was a little tight. She pulled it off and slid it onto her left hand and it fit perfectly. The band was heavy and very wide, taking up most of her finger to the first knuckle. The diamonds sparked in the light of the Christmas tree.

"Sirius, it's beautiful! Thank you," Ella said, looking from her hand to Sirius's face, his eyes watching her intently.

"You like it?"

"Oh yes, I love it. I've never seen one like it."

"I had it made for you. Ella, I know how you feel about a wedding, and I understand. This isn't a wedding ring or an engagement ring."

"It's a soulmate ring?" Ella asked.

"It's engraved." Sirius said softly.

Ella pulled the ring off of her finger and held it up to the light, squinting one eye and turning the ring around in her finger, trying to catch the tiny writing in the light.

"'Yours will be the name'," she read aloud, then looked at Sirius with a questioning look.

"You cannot possess me for I belong to myself," he began to recite, looking into her eyes as he continued,

"But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give

"You cannot command me, for I am a free person,

"But I shall serve you in those ways you require and

"the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand.

"I pledge to you that yours will be the name

"I cry aloud in the night and the eyes into which I smile in the morning.

"I pledge to you the first bite of my meat and the first drink from my cup

"I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care

"I shall be a shield for your back and you for mine

"I shall not slander you, nor you me

"I shall honor you above all others, and

"when we quarrel we shall do so in private and

"tell no strangers our grievances

"This is my vow to you," Sirius finished, his eyes still locked with hers.

"Sirius, that's beautiful," Ella said, feeling like her heart was in her throat. Ella wrapped her arms around Sirius's neck and kissing his cheek quickly. "I love you. Thank you for making this the happiest Christmas ever. Yours is and will be the name for me, too, you know."

"I know. I love you, too, El. More than I thought I could love anyone." He kissed her forehead and murmured, "I'm glad you're happy, love." He pulled her close and she thought she heard him say, "I'm going to make that motorcycle fly," but decided it was best to ignore that comment.

Sirius pulled her into the bedroom saying, "Now I do believe it's time for another very important Christmas tradition."

As he made love to Ella, enjoying the symphony of sighs and moans she made, Sirius Black thought he was the luckiest man in the world.

Author's Note:

Sirius's vow comes from the Celtic Wedding Vow by Morgan Llywelyn. It was referenced in another fic I read by Kerichi. After searching it out and reading it, I thought it was just perfect for this. Heck, if I wasn't already married, it would be used in my wedding ceremony.

I had a hard time with this chapter, I'm still not sure if I'm completely happy with it, but it's time to post it so that I can move on with the next part of the story. Thank you to everyone who reads and to everyone who reviews. I appreciate it! It should be pretty quick for the next update. :)


	10. Chapter 10

"Ella!"

"Ella!"

Remus and Peter burst in through the front door without knocking. Ella, who had been dozing on the sofa, startled awake. She sat up like a shot, knocking the sleeping cat off of her chest and onto the floor. Zoe glared at the intruders before stalking off down the hall. Remus and Peter, who was slightly out of breath, were standing in front of Ella. They both began speaking at once.

"Sirius is hurt-"

"Dumbledore sent us for you -"

"He's unconscious-"

"You need to come with us," Remus finished.

Peter grabbed one of Ella's hands, pulling her up from the couch as Ella asked, "Wha? Is he ok?"

"I don't know. As soon as we arrived at the school, Dumbledore sent us to get you," Remus explained.

"C'mon, let's go," Peter said, sounding impatient, ready to return to his injured friend.

Remus set an empty soda can on the table and looked at his watch.

"We have five minutes if you want to change clothes," Remus said, tactfully avoiding looking at Ella.

With their abrupt arrival and shocking news, Ella hadn't realized she was standing in her living room wearing nothing more than an old t-shirt that was not long enough to cover her pink panties. With a grim nod of thanks to Remus, she left the room tugging her shirt down as she went, trying to cover more of herself. She returned a few moments later wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.

"Have you ever used a portkey, Ella?" Remus asked.

"No."

"This will take us to Sirius. Just put a finger on it," he motioned to the soda can, "and don't let go."

She followed Peter and Remus's lead as they each placed a finger on the can. Almost immediately the can began to glow and she felt something hook her behind her navel, followed by the sensation of traveling through the air. She began to feel ill just before her feet hit the ground with a thud, throwing her face first onto a stone floor. Peter landed on top of her with another thud, knocking the air out of her.

"Sorry," Peter said, pulling himself off of her while Remus, who had kept his footing, pulled Ella to her feet.

They were standing in a large hospital room filled single beds on either side of a central aisle. All of the beds were empty except for the last bed at the end of the room. Ella barely had time to take in her surroundings before she was greeted by Albus Dumbledore and Lily. James, she noted, had remained beside the occupied bed.

"Eleanore," Dumbledore said, concern filling his eyes. "I'm sorry to scare you so in the middle of the night. I felt it best to bring you here as quickly as possible."

Ella had already started walking toward James. She was almost afraid to look at the very still figure lying in the bed beside him. Dumbledore walked along beside her, while Lily, Remus and Peter followed behind.

"What happened?" She asked, walking over to the side of the bed, looking down at Sirius.

He was unconscious, his breathing very shallow. Her eyes narrowed as she watched closely to make sure that he really was breathing. Other than appearing very pale, he didn't look injured.

"He was hit by several stunning spells at the same time," James said quietly.

"They hit him in the head and the chest," Lily added.

"My dear, you are at Hogwarts, my school. Our nurse, Madam Pomfrey, is taking care of Sirius. She believes she has pulled him through and that he will have a full recovery. However, he will remain uncousious for a little longer," Albus said in his calm voice. He waved his wand and a cozy wing-chair appeared at Sirius's side. "You may sit here by Sirius if you would like."

"Thank you," Ella answered, taking a seat.

"If you will excuse us please, Eleanore, I need to meet with everyone else." He then turned to the others standing there and said, "If you will join me in my office, I need to know what all has happened tonight."

Everyone filed out of the hospital wing, leaving Ella alone with the unconscious Sirius. She sat there quietly, not moving, just watching Sirius sleep. Tentatively she leaned over, reaching out a hand to his. As she grabbed hold of his hand, he sighed softly.

"Don't you do this to me, Sirius Black," Ella said quietly. "We are way too young to die."

She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead. Folding her arms onto the bed, she laid her head down and closed her eyes. She was startled awake a little while later by a hand placed on the back of her head. With a gasp she sat up to see Sirius, now laying on his side, smiling feebly at her.

"Sirius," she said quickly. "Let me go and get the nurse!"

She jumped up and turned to run to the end of the aisle toward the nurse's office. She paused for just a moment, gasping at a sharp pain in her side. It passed quickly and she hurried on to get the nurse. She left Sirius so suddenly, she did not hear his quiet, "I'm sorry." Within moments she returned, the very prim looking nurse on her heels. Ella couldn't help but admire the efficient manner of the nurse. Once she had finished her examination, she went into her office and returned quickly carrying two potions for Sirius to drink. After he had dutifully taken his potions, she instructed him to rest. The nurse turned on her heel, casting a very disapproving look at Ella before returning to her office.

"I don't think she likes that I'm here," Ella said, returning to her chair at Sirius's side.

"I don't care what she thinks. I want you here," Sirius said.

"I'm glad you're going to be ok," she said, reaching out a hand to stroke his hair. "I've been very worried about you."

"I'm sorry, El," he said softly, his eyelids getting noticibly heavier.

"S'all right," she said, placing a kiss on his forehead as he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Ella sat by herself for a little while before she was joined by Lily and James. Everyone else, they told her, had left for the night. They were thrilled when Ella told them Sirius had woken up earlier and gotten a favorable review from the nurse. James pulled up a chair on the other side of Sirius's bed, across from Ella. Lily sat down next to her. They sat there quietly, each lost in their own thoughts for a while. It was a companionable silence. The news had eased Lily and James's minds, but they would both feel better when they saw Sirius awake and talking for themselves.

Suddenly, Ella felt another sharp, clutching pain in her side. This one was much stronger and lasted longer than the earlier pain. It took her by surprise, making her gasp. She knew immediately that something was wrong. Standing up, she saw that her chair was covered in blood.

"Oh god," Ella said. "Lily -"

James, moving faster than he knew he could, came around the bed and grabbed Ella. With an arm firmly around her shoulders, he quickly guided her to another bed, telling Lily to run for the nurse. He sat on the side of the bed with her, keeping his arm around her.

"I'm losing the baby," Ella said softly, her face turned into James's shoulder.

"Shhh," he said softly, trying to keep them both calm. "Lil's gone for the nurse. She can fix you right up."

Ella felt tears well up in her eyes. She knew she was losing the baby. She felt as if her body was trying to turn itself inside-out. Involuntarily, she curled herself into a ball while she and James waited for Lily to return with the nurse.

Upon arrival, Madam Pomfrey took quick action. She shooed James aside and with one wave of her wand, she pulled curtains around Ella. Ella's bloody jeans and sweatshirt were very efficiently replaced with a hospital gown.

"All right my dear, let me examine you," the nurse said in a voice much more gentle than she had used earlier.

Ella lay there quietly during her examination, silent tears running down her cheeks. Finally the nurse said the words Ella knew were coming.

"I'm sorry, dear. There's nothing I can do to save the baby. How far along were you?"

"Twelve weeks," Ella answered quietly, her mind numbly registering the nurse's use of the past-tense.

Madam Pomfrey left for just a moment, returning quickly with a goblet containing a steaming blue potion. She offered the drink to Ella.

"Drink this," she said. "It will take away the pain, speed the process and allow you to sleep through it. Miss Evans," the nurse said, turning to Lily, "if you will sit with her, I need to see the headmaster. I'll return in a few moments."

Lily agreed, not even taking time to correct the nurse on the use of her maiden name. She sat down on the side of the bed, stroking Ella's hair lightly. Ella gratefully drank the potion. She was looking forward to sleep, hoping that once she awoke from this nightmare, everything would be better.

James had returned to his chair at Sirius's side. His back was to the curtain separating him from Lily and Ella, but he had heard everything that had been said. Never had he felt so helpless as he did now, sitting beside his unconscious best friend who was unaware that only a few feet away Ella was miscarrying his child.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: I know it's been a long time. It's been so long, I'm not even sure how long it's been! If anyone is still around and still willing to read this, I really appreciate it. I have several future chapters already written, only needing final edit, but a few 'bridging' chapters in between that I'm working on. If you're still here, Thank You!

* * *

Morning light slanted through the window bathing Ella's face in warm sunlight. She woke up slowly, the comforting feeling of Sirius's arm slung across her waist making her feel safe. It wasn't until she stretched and every muscle in her body complained against the motion that she remembered.

"You awake?" Sirius asked softly, his breath tickling her ear.

"Mmmm-hmmmm," Ella answered. She snuggled back against Sirius who was spooned behind her. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine. It takes more than that to do me in. Pomfrey says I have a very thick skull."

"Good," Ella said, closing her eyes. "How am I?"

"You, my love, are going to be fine. As I was told yesterday, we're young, we're healthy and we can always try again."

"I don't feel young and healthy right now. I feel old and kind of like I've been run over by a bus."

"You'll feel better soon," he told her and then kissed the back of her neck. "You just need to rest."

"Where are we?" Ella asked, glancing around at the unfamiliar room.

Just on first glance, she recognized that they were no longer in the hospital wing. The room was large, with dark paneled walls stretching above to the high, stone ceiling. The four-poster bed she was currently sharing with Sirius would have dominated any room in her flat, but here in this room, with its heavy, ornate furniture, it fit right in. A small seating area was in an alcove beside the bedroom. Tall, narrow windows provided ample sunlight throughout the suite of rooms.

"We're still at Hogwarts. These are guest quarters. Dumbledore moved you here last night. You've been out for over 24 hours. Speaking of, I need to let Pomfrey know you're awake."

Sirius climbed out of the large bed. He quickly slipped on his jeans and pulled a shirt over his head before leaving Ella alone. He had only been gone a moment when there was a light knock at the door. The door opened immediately and Lily entered carrying a tray of tea and toast. Ella sat up in bed, tucking her legs under her and making room for Lily, who sat at the foot of the bed, placing the tray between them. Lily moved slowly on to the bed, situating herself carefully, trying not to shake the bed.

"How are you, El?" Lily asked tentatively.

"Honestly? I feel like crap," Ella said as she picked up a piece of toast.

However, before she could take a bite, the nurse, Madam Pomfrey, entered the room. Sirius followed right behind her. Lily quickly moved off of the bed, giving the nurse room to see her patient. After several pokes and prods with her wand, the nurse stepped away from the bed.

"You've lost quite a bit of blood. I've a potion you'll need to take once every six hours for the next 24 hours. After that, you should begin to feel much better," Madam Pomfrey said in her matter-of-fact tone. Her voice softened as she continued, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to do more. But you are very healthy. This shouldn't stop you from trying again. I see no reason why you cannot go on to have children."

"Yes Ma'am," Ella said. "Thank you."

"Of course, my dear. Drink your potion," she instructed, her voice back to its usual business-like tone as she handed Ella a goblet. "Bed-rest for today. I'll check on you later this afternoon."

Ella nodded and obediently drank her potion. She was pleasantly surprised that the vile-looking red potion tasted much better than it looked. Once the nurse was sure Ella was going to follow her instructions, she left the room. Ella drained the goblet and then reached for her tea and toast.

* * *

Ella healed quickly over the following weeks. Winter trailed into Spring and life returned to normal. As Ella and Sirius had discussed, Ella left school and she quickly found a broker with ties to a small gallery in a trendy location in London willing to represent her. As Spring gave way to Summer, Ella was well on her way to making her living as an artist. Both Ella and Sirius were surprised at how quickly the long Autumn evenings turned into cold Winter nights.

As they began decorating their flat for Christmas, Ella refused to dwell on last year's thoughts of "Baby's First Christmas." Instead both she and Sirius, without discussing it, worked hard on their Christmas cheer. On the Saturday before Christmas, Ella noted Sirius looking at the decorated tree with a distant look in his eye.

Walking up behind him, Ella wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his back and said, "I know what you're thinking, Sirius Black."

"No, love, not this time."

"What is it?" Ella asked quickly as Sirius turned around to face her.

Sirius gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his grey eyes. "I got word earlier. It appears my brother is dead."

"Oh no. What happened?"

"No one is entirely sure," Sirius told her. "Regulus was in over his head, I do know that much. Either he was a Death Eater, or he was working on becoming one. Either way, it looks like he wanted out."

"And they killed him?" Ella asked, her eyes had grown huge in her pale face.

"Well, it's not exactly like you can tender your resignation, love."

"Oh Sirius, I'm sorry," Ella said simply, tightening her arms around him.

"Yeah, me too," Sirius agreed. "One day this is going to be finished and there will be peace," he said, his voice somber. "I'm ready for that, El. I'm tired of fighting."

Later that night, Ella and Sirius were joined by James and Lily. Sirius had barely opened the door to them when Lily burst in, rushing toward her friend.

Lily grabbed Ella by the arms and squealed, "I'm going to have a baby!"

Ella pulled her into a tight hug, tears of joy filling her eyes. She placed a kiss on Lily's cheek and said, "Oh Lily, I'm thrilled for you!"

As Ella pulled back, leading Lily into the living room, she looked back to see Sirius and James embracing as well.

"You'll be Godfather, won't you, mate?" James was asking Sirius as Lily asked, "And you, Ella, you'll be Godmother?"

"Of course," Ella answered.

"Definitely," Sirius agreed.

"So, the first of four kids, huh? Or have you increased it to five yet?" Ella teased Lily.

"Shhhh, one baby at a time, El. One at a time," Lily whispered.

The two couples celebrated the happy news that evening. They were joined later by Remus, who looked exhausted, and Peter, who was somewhat withdrawn. The excitement was contagious, though. It was hard for anyone to be in the flat that night and not be filled with joy. Several glasses were raised to "The Potter Baby." One week later, Frank and Alice Longbottom announced that they, too, were expecting a baby due in August.

"Do you want to try, love?" Sirius asked her later, when they were alone and snuggled deep under the covers in their bed.

Ella kissed the tip of his nose before answering, "One day, when you're done fighting and this war is over. Then we'll try."

Lily's pregnancy progressed quickly. Where Ella had stayed slim for the three months of her pregnancy the year before, Lily blossomed. Every day she grew noticeably larger. James began to make jokes about her carrying a moose. Moose quickly turned into the unborn baby's name. "How's Moose doing today?" "Moose sure is kicking today" "How much bigger can Moose possibly get?" Ella began to worry that the poor kid might end up going through life known as Moose.

Her fears were set aside on July 31st, when she and Sirius were called to St. Mungo's, the wizard hospital. They made their way to Lily's room, Sirius carrying a large stuffed moose, where they were introduced to the baby.

"Harry James Potter," Lily proudly announced, a small bundle held in her arms.

Sirius stood at the foot of the bed while Ella squeezed by James to stand next to Lily and the baby.

"Want to hold him, Godmother?" Lily asked, raising the baby in her arms.

Ella nodded, reaching down to hold the baby.

"Hello, little love," she murmured, kissing the top of his head. "I'm your Godmother, and I'm going to spoil you silly," Ella promised him.

Sirius moved closer, standing behind Ella, to look at Harry from over her shoulder. Ella tried to offer the baby to him, but he shook his head.

"Nah, I'm not the one, love," he said quickly. "I'll wait until he's older - a little less fragile."

"Do you mean to tell me that we have finally found something the great Sirius Black is afraid of?" James asked loudly.

"Not afraid, no," Sirius said with an evil grin. "I just figure that if he's your kid, there's probably something wrong with him. If I don't hold him, you can't blame me for breaking him."

"Oh Sirius, stop it! He's perfect, absolutely perfect," Ella said, smiling.

"I hope for his sake he takes after his mum."

After a few more jokes from Sirius and a few more kisses from Ella, the couple made their farewells and left the new family alone. They walked three doors down the hall to see Frank and Alice and their baby, Neville, born the day before.

As they left the hospital, Sirius pulled Ella to him and whispered in her ear, "You look good with a baby in your arms, love."

Ella gave him a sad smile and said softly, "Someday."


End file.
